MSNBC comes perilously close to Brian Ross-level blunder

4/19/13 10:15 AM EDT

Chuck Todd may have saved MSNBC from an enormous blunder this morning when he stopped one of the network's analysts from speculating on "the electronic trails" of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

Todd's decision to interrupt an analyst on-air shows just how cautious some media organizations have become in a week that has been defined by conflicting reports and misinformation. But the crisis Todd averted bore greater similarity to the one ABC's Brian Ross was responsible for last July, when, based off a single website, he reported that the Aurora shooting suspect may have had connections to the tea party.

On today's edition of MSNBC's Daily Rundown, which Todd hosts, NBC News analyst Evan Kohlmann started describing what he believed was one of the suspect's Amazon "wish lists" -- that is, a list of products the suspect wanted to buy on Amazon.com, the online retail site.

Kohlmann said he understood, then started speculating on possible links between the suspects and Al Qaeda or other organized terror networks on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which, he said, have been known to use Chechens or individuals who look like Chechens.

"One of those groups is known as the Islamic Jihad Union," Kohlmann said.

In the studio, off camera, a voice could be heard saying, "Oh my God."

Todd finally cut in again: "I didn't mean to cut you off, but we don't want to draw so many conclusions," he said. "But your point is that this is the type of string that the intelligence community is going to start pulling at -- is that right."

Kohlmann confirmed that, then stipulated that though this was relevant background information, he did not know which groups were involved.

UPDATE (11:05 a.m.): Kohlmann emails:

At no time did I ever suggest any specific terrorist organization was directly responsible for this week's tragic events in Boston. To the contrary, I have repeatedly and emphatically cautioned that these events are likely within the capabilities of individual actors -- and in fact, I have cited public denials from groups like the Pakistani Taliban and the Chechen mujahideen. However, I believe it is indeed worthwhile to at least explore the possibility that there was an organization involved -- and which groups are credible potential culprits.